The Shadow of Your Smile (Johnny Mathis album)
| The Shadow of Your Smile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 33:59 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Johnny Mathis | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Shadow of Your Smile is the 24th original studio album released by singer Johnny Mathis, and his eighth for Mercury Records.
Overview
Where his previous albums on Mercury Records recalled his earlier work for Columbia Records comprised as they were of Broadway showtunes, film music and standards, this album looks forward to Mathis' albums in his second Columbia Records period (beginning in 1967) where he began to cover contemporary hits. It is made up mostly of cover versions of current hits and songs from recent shows and films.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
Track listing
- "Moment to Moment" (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) - 2:23
- "The Shadow of Your Smile" (From The Sandpiper) (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) - 3:03
- "Michelle" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:33
- "Yesterday" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:04
- "Something's Coming" (From West Side Story) (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) - 2:50
- "A Taste of Honey" (Rick Marlow, Bobby Scott) - 3:09
- "I'm in Love for the Very First Time" - 3:15
- "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)" (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gene Lees) - 2:26
- "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (George Cory, Douglas Cross) - 2:59
- "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) - 2:43
- "Melinda" (From On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) - 3:18
- "Come Back to Me" (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) - 2:16
Billboard album chart
With the exception of his 1963 holiday album with the label, Merry Christmas, this is Mathis' most successful album for Mercury Records peaking at #9 on the Billboard album chart.[1] This was his 28th album to place on the chart. He also had a hit single from this album: "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" peaked at #98 on the Hot 100 singles chart and #6 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.[2]
Highlights
The Beatles exploded on the American music scene in 1964 leading to many established music stars recording their songs, among them, Ella Fitzgerald ("Can't Buy Me Love"), Peggy Lee ("A Hard Day's Night") and Jack Jones ("And I Love Her"). Mathis recorded his first songs by the group for this album, "Yesterday" and "Michelle". He would record further songs by the group on subsequent albums. Other contemporary song hits that Mathis covered for this album include "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)" which is sung in the original language, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" a hit for Tony Bennett in 1962, and "A Taste of Honey", a popular song from 1960 that had been already covered by many artists including Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan and the Beatles.
"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" opened on Broadway in 1965. Mathis included three songs from its score for this album: the title song, "Melinda" and "Come Back to Me". A decade earlier, West Side Story was breaking new ground in musical theatre, with Mathis having already recorded a number of songs from its score. For this album he continues his exploration of that landmark musical with "Something's Coming".
Mathis had often turned to Hollywood for song inspiration and on this album he includes two current movie themes. "The Shadow of Your Smile" won the Academy Award as the year's best song in 1965. It was the love theme to the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film The Sandpiper. "Moment to Moment" was the theme to the film of the same name from the same year. It was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, yet another in the increasing number of songs by this composer recorded by Mathis.